Georgian Foreign Minister, Grigol Vashadze, who is visiting Yerevan on November 7, denied that the Armenian President canceled his visit to Georgia.

“I am surprised where such information is coming from,” RFE/RL Armenian service reported quoting Vashadze as saying after meeting with his Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandian in Yerevan on Monday.

“I am here with a purpose to prepare the Armenian President’s visit [to Georgia],” he said, adding that the dates of upcoming visit would be announced later.

After meeting between President Sargsyan and Foreign Minister Vashadze on November 7, the Armenian President’s office said in a press release that upcoming visit of Serzh Sargsyan to Georgia was also discussed during the meeting.

On October 18 the Georgian President’s spokesperson, Manana Manjgaladze, announced that the Armenian President was planning to visit Georgia in early November.

But on October 21 the Armenian Foreign Ministry’s spokesman denied that President Sargsyan planned visit to Georgia in early November, which triggered the Armenian press to speculate that Serzh Sargsyan canceled or postponed the visit because of President Saakashvili’s remarks made on October 19. Saakashvili said at the time while meeting with a group of Georgian public officials, that because of efficient state apparatus, Georgia could have tackled results of landslide in Armenia’s northern region of Tavush mush faster, than the Armenian authorities did it. The landslide killed several people, including two Georgian citizens, and cut off traffic between Armenia and Georgia. 

• Yerevan Upset over Saakashvili’s Armenia Remarks - March, 2009

 The Armenian President’s office said after meeting between Serzh Sargsyan and Grigol Vashadze, that friendly bilateral relations were developing in the spirit of cooperation and that high-level dialogue between the two countries makes it possible to promptly resolve all the issues of bilateral relations.